Nicola Barker

If I have to explain to you why it's a bad idea to use a machine that makes shit up 15-80% of the time AND destroys the environment AND contributes to rising fascism and genocide AND puts brilliant skillful creatives out of work by stealing their work, then we're already speaking different languages

Para 102, quote, As to the Government’s main justification relying on the claimed need to protect the privacy interests of other bathroom users, Mr Parker submitted that the PCCBR in fact make little if any contribution to user privacy, and actually would be counter-productive: Item 1, The Government’s privacy argument takes as its premise the proposition that K is to be treated as a woman for the purpose of bathroom use based on his biological sex at birth and/or HKID sex marker, but whether he should be treated as a male or female for this purpose is what is in issue. Item 2, The argument ignores the reality of what trans people actually do when they use the bathroom. As K does not possess male genitalia, he does not use urinals, and K uses a cubicle where he can neither see others nor be seen. (The same would be true of a trans woman visiting a female bathroom, which has only cubicles.) Item 3, Hence, given a male appearance, it is difficult to see how other male bathroom users would be affected by K’s mere presence, not least when fully clothed outside the cubicle or shower compartment. Item 4, K’s male appearance would likely cause more consternation if he were forced to use the female toilets, as he would appear to be – and K’s evidence was that he had in fact sometimes been accused of being – in the “wrong” bathroom. Forcing K to use female public conveniences would create an even greater privacy harm both to him and to female bathroom users.

3/ Lol, even a British judge operating under communist rule managed to state the obvious: that trans people use toilets to pee, and that toilets have cubicles. One can only marvel at how the Ladies and Lords failed to do the same.

How Britain privatised itself into failure Britain outsourced its state – now private firms profit while public services crumble. In Failed State, Sam Freedman explains what went wrong

🚨How Britain privatised itself into failure.🚨 Britain outsourced its state – now private firms profit while public services crumble.

In 'Failed State', Sam Freedman explains what went wrong.

I cannot emphasize enough how true & real this is.

In almost anywhere on the political spectrum you ID with or major issue, there’s probably a bot/troll operation to encourage your rage and vitriol.

And how/where that rage gets directed, esp understandable rage, is what they are out to influence.

🌍 Applications open: Funded International Visiting Research Fellowships (2025–2026)

As part of our commitment to global collaboration, we invite scholars outside the UK to build or expand research ties with our staff and research clusters.

📅 Apply by 31 Aug 2025
🔗 bit.ly/internationa...

Behind the ruling: how ‘Sex Matters’ is shaping UK policy on trans rights The UK Supreme Court ruling redefined ‘sex’ – but for trans people, it’s the start of something far more sweeping and exclusionary

Behind the ruling: how ‘Sex Matters’ is shaping UK policy on trans rights

The UK Supreme Court ruling redefined ‘sex’ – but for trans people, it’s the start of something far more sweeping and exclusionary

By ST Williams

@yorkshirebylines.co.uk

Labour to cancel its women’s conference after supreme court gender ruling Trans rights and gender critical campaigners criticise decision after party told it risks legal challenge if conference goes ahead

It's all just so amazingly wonderfully brilliant for women, isn't it? www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

We have this already - it's called the cross-subsidy from international fees to underfunded home students

Labour has a whopping great majority and four years left to turn this country around.

They should be setting the agenda, not chasing about trying to placate voters of a party with five MPs who will never vote for them anyway.

It's not only disappointing... it's embarrassing

This is a serious problem for all gender non-conforming women (especially the butch lesbians who ‘the lesbian intervenors’ are purportedly concerned about). The SC decision was a victory only for heteropatriarchy. Monique Wittig once said “lesbians are not women”. This is not what she meant.

By defining “sex” in the Equality Act as “biological,” it ignored key case law, EHRC guidance, and even Parliament’s intent.

This isn’t just a reinterpretation. It’s a rollback.

We broke down what the Court left out.

gender-matters.org/law/ignored-...

The trans judge who will be heard, even if she has to take the UK to the European Court of Human Rights In a video address released for Trans+ History Week shared exclusively with QueerAF, the Trans+ judge who is set to make history in Europe, speaks out

Dr Victoria McLeod outlines how the Supreme Court’s reading of “sex” within the Equality Act to mean sex assigned at birth only places the UK now at serious risk of breaching its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.

We need our courts to give space and listen to trans people.

Parody Alternative Judgment: For Women Scotland [2025] Following the Supreme Court’s decision in the For Women case last week, colleagues thought it would help to have a case summary for use in

“We reject the proper functioning of sex, sexual orientation, lesbian-only spaces and associations, fair participation in sport. The absence of coherence is the only correct reading.”

Emily Grabham has written a searing parodic judgment exposing the UK Supreme Court’s non-sense of “biological sex.”

The wrong ICE is melting The wrong Amazon is burning

Sign of the day…

💯 the Southern Poverty Law Centre reported the same tactic outlined at a right-wing US conference as well.

Thanks Loveday!

Your periodic reminder that one way to think about privilege is: who's allowed to make mistakes?

Thank you! 😀

Map reveals residential wood-burning hotspots in England and Wales Researchers analyse energy performance certificate data to identify areas with potentially high particle pollution

I'm really sorry, but we just need to stop doing this. Your wood-burning hygge leads directly to people's deaths - other people's and perhaps your own.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

‘Marry in Haste …’: The (Partial) Abolition of Same-sex Marriage in Bermuda Abstract. In 2018, the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda revoked the right to marry for same-sex couples. In a judgment that reconceives the relationsh

been used for more immediate outputs, with no guarantee that it would be admissible. For an account of the background to this case see: academic.oup.com/hrlr/article... and there is an account of our legal arguments before the ECtHR in my forthcoming JSWFL article

And finally, this is the third consecutive impact prize for Liverpool and that doesn’t happen by accident so I have to thank Marie Fox who nominated me and the previous two winners, and Helen Stalford who as HoD supported me to take a huge risk in spending a lot of time on this case that could have

their willingness to fight on. Rod Attride-Stirling and his team at ASW Law in Bermuda, and Sarah Hannett KC and Nathan Roberts (Matrix) were incredible and a pleasure to work with. I really appreciate their time and considerable expertise on this case.

I have to thank first and foremost the 8 applicants who were willing to stand up to not only their own govt but also the UK govt by bringing this case to the ECtHR. This case is incredibly important legally but it is also very personal for them and the JCPC decision was bruising so I appreciate

I’m delighted to have jointly won the 2025 impact prize - thank you very much to the SLSA and congratulations to fellow winner Mark Walters, as well as all the nominees and winners across the categories. This prize is for my work challenging the revocation of same-sex marriage in Bermuda so…

OfS free-speech absolutism allows abuse, harassment, and bullying - HEPI The OfS’s £585,000 fine on Sussex sets a damaging precedent, undermining university autonomy and protections for marginalised groups.

Interesting blog by Sasha Roseneil, Sussex VC, clearly right about the impact of the recent OfS decision finding that its trans-inclusive policy violated free speech. I’ll be talking about the decision in light of ECHR jurisprudence at #SLSA2025 next week

Sometimes politics is simple. A man who speaks like an idiot will do idiotic things. That's really the sum total of the political analysis you need to understand what's happening today. But political commentators and investment advisers sought to make it more complicated.

“There is this terrible misconception that disabled people just take, but actually by taking from us, you prevent us from being able to give – we want to be able to participate in life equally the same as anyone else, and that includes going to work.” Disability campaigner Tanni Gray-Thompson

We are absolutely delighted to bring you the 1st issue of Gender and Justice!
bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...
A HUGE thank you to all of the Authors, Reviewers & Editors who contributed to this issue
#GenderSky #GenderStudies @sharronfitz.bsky.social @lexnetwork.bsky.social

The Covid pandemic accelerated this. It supercharged the idea that there are entire groups of people who are not worthy of protection. Not worthy of life. Acceptable losses.

If we don’t start acknowledging that and changing the narrative, the hate and division will only continue to grow.

It's really fucking clear that Trump and his cronies are out to break everything and everyone as much as they can, their 'enemies' within and without. The more cruel, the more mean, the more unfair - the better.

and convert the tears of others into gold in their pockets.